it’s only his fourth start, can’t predict his future in 4 games. Give him time and he will rise to a big time star, he has the arm, the speed and the passion. All that is needed is good long term experience and he is getting some of it. He is by far better than the struggling smith who can’t throw.

http://robertphoenix@robertphoenix.com Dutch

I have a website that touches on sports astrology and other “stuff.” I have two pieces on Kapernick that are fairly in depth. The game against the Patriots next bodes extremely well for number 7. He will outperform Brady and the result will be a win.

vinsonfer

If it was not for that one run with 2 mins left in the game I think Alex would be starting against NE. Ck did horrible no passing touchdowns, poor management(HB had to waste timeouts when he did not audible), 1 third down conversion, fumbling, sacks. Without that run this conversation and the headlines would be totally different.

Justin

Is anybody else concerned that Kaepernick cannot read defenses yet? Fisher had him baffled and the mediocre-at-best Dolphins did, too, until they went bonzo for Gore that last run.

Smith had/has many shortcomings — over-cautious, happy feet, slow release out of the pocket — but he was excellent at reading coverages and schemes and could get the Niners into the right play at the line.

Because the Niners’ line are not outstanding pass-blockers, especially on impromptu reads, our QB’s main job is to get the team into the right play with the right routes. Any evidence Kaepernick can do that?

If not, week 17 will look like 9-5-1 Niners hosting AZ just to clinch a wild card. Is a #5 seed with a playoff game @ NYG enticing to anyone?

TheGhostofOak

I love how the Anti-Kaep crowd credits him with ZERO TDs as if the only way to score is through the air…LOL

@ SFFranciscan….Please tell me why a 50 yard option run that was designed doesn’t count? Maybe we should erase the Smith sweep in the NO game from memory….Didn’t count. Take those points off the board and we lose in the playoffs….

Manny

Why did we bench Alex again?

josh

I am neither a Smith or Kaep hater or supporter. I just want the Niners to be productive like they were earlier in the season. It is obvious we have taken a step backwards with Kaep. I am praying Harbaugh realizes this and how short our post season will be if Kaep remains at the helm.

What if Harbaugh’s plans all along were to prime Smith for the playoffs by inserting Kaep as the starter, giving him an opportunity to show what he has, then starting Smith for the Pats, Seahawks and Cards – A three game prep to make a run at the Superbowl. That is my Christmas wish. Can you imagine how much Smith feels he has to prove now. I think it would light it up.

3rdnKING

Alex Smith was the worst QB in the NFL BEFORE HARBAUGH

maybe we can resign him as a long term backup

somebody put the pink slip in Brandon Jacobs locker, and let everyone else know they can join him

you are either one of us, or one of them…no room for whiners, lucky one

Go Niners!!!

italian niner

Dear USA beatwriters, niner fan and friends, I read everything you say about the team i love since the eighties, to understand more about football, that as u can imagine in Italy is not as popular as there, but…lately many of games comments are becoming a little weird for me. For example, about Steve C. and Alex posts, I have some “rookie fan” doubts : basically Smith and Kap had the same amount of time under the same great coach and system, so I really don’t know how much the Smith starts under Singletary , Nolan and so on can count as great “experience making” ….. If kap first 4 games were under the first Smith 4 games system and coaching… I don’t know. BTW Smith was a first day starter in his rookie year, while Kap had one season to develop and study in his first nfl year. And generally speakng, just don’t understand why so many people could change their minds … if Smith won it was because of D and ST, if this happen with Kap at helm is because of him…. If Smith was sacked was his fault now is all on OL, when Smith wasn’t throwing deep and had low 3rd down conversion rate it was all on him now is the OC playcalling…. Anyway I will never root against Kap because in my opinion I guess Smith could have done the same…. It was Harbaugh decision. That’s it. but I would like to see some honesty and the same way to judge a game not depending from who’s leading the offence. (excuse my english)

http://riancooney@hotmail.com SFFranciscan

@TheGhostofOak

So are we bringing back the Single Wing for the playoffs? I missed that new release.

You can’t be serious that the reason to switch to Kaepernick at the end of the season is a run where a mediocre defense overreacts to Gore!

Good luck with that strategy against the Packers and Raji & Matthews, or the Giants with that D-line.

Notice my point: everyone backing Kaepernick is pointing to “potential”…but this decision was supposedly for this year, not next season; it was “designed” to give them the best chance to win now, or at least that’s what the coach said. And if Kaepernick can’t win in the playoffs and get this team farther than Smith did last year with that brilliant playoff performance against Brees and the Saints, then Harbaugh has blown it and he should be judged by his own logic in taking such a gamble in late November. That’s the standard.

Final point: Justin Smith and Frank Gore, the two best players on this team on either side of the ball, need to win now. They don’t give a damn about “potential”.

By the way, you all might check out the latest stats at ESPN for the NFL: after week 14, Robert Griffing III is in a virtual dead heat with Alex Smith and Payton Manning (all at 104+) for the top QB rating.

Not that that means anything.

The emperor is beautifully clothed, as always.

gw

Wow, just wow. The tide of Alex was rolling out for six years with insane nonsense about how he couldn’t win, couldn’t throw, couldn’t everything basically because his coaches couldn’t coach.
Now it’s rolling in with equally insane nonsense that sounds as though a perennial pro bowler who carried the team on his shoulders for years was being replaced. He was good last year because of the coaching, playcalling, and players around him. Alex is a competent QB who has very visible weaknesses as well as some important strengths.
Colin is still a work in progress who has done extremely well for a second year player in his fourth start; and he has tools to work with that Alex never will. A coach who was a QB himself and who has taken the Niners from laughingstock to Superbowl contender in his first two years is being second-guessed remorselessly by the Clown Posse on a QB decision. Hilarious.

Justin

No, gw. The concern about Kaepernick isn’t the tide “rolling in.” The concern is that good defenses overwhelm him.

As you correctly note, Kaepernick is “a work in progress.” This was not the plan most of us had in mind for 2012. Have you not seen the Visa commercial?

But the ONLY thing it shows is that we have a glorified running back playing the QB position!!!

SLAM

NO, what’s hilarious “gw” is that u FOOLS are ALL in!!!

and to u:
Alex says:
December 10th, 2012 at 9:05 am 43..For everybody that keeps making comparisons to Alex Smith and Kaepernick based on the numbers, you are forgetting one important thing, This is Kaepernick’s 2nd year in the league with only 4 starts under his belt. Basically Kaepernick at his worst in his early development is as good as Alex Smith is at his best in his prime.

All the Smith lovers talk about him like he’s a rookie or just a developing QB. The guy has been in the league for 7 years and this is the best he will ever be. This is Kaepernick’s 2nd year (one of which was shortened do to the lockout) and with some game time experience he has far more upside than Smith ever had.

WOW!!!!!!!!!! So he’s going into wk 15 with just his 4th start under his belt.

It’s funny how everybody who hates AS and wanted CK to start because he so much better than AS is making excuses for him like he’s a rookie!!!

Hmmm…. Let’s see, Ck has the same coaching staff 2 yrs. in a row and he’s surrounded by vets. AS got drafted during a rebuilding period by a HC who didn’t believe that the QB postion to be the most important on the team, gave him an ex-TE’s coach that he brought with him from Balt. for his 4th coaching job in the NFL as his QB’s coach who had to learn the WCO, JUST, like his pupil AS who ran the spread O under UM at Utah. The next yr. he gets NT and he and his QB’s coach have to learn another system, not to mention the fact that the ENTIRE Off. was learning a new scheme as a WHOLE!!!! AS went 7-9 his 2nd yr. and took every snap in ALL 16 games that season nor did he miss a start last yr.!!!!

Mike M

This is a Super Bowl caliber team. The team does not need a QB work in progress. If Harbaugh continues to go with Kaep, not only is he setting the team up for an early playoff exit, but he will have the biggest NFL QB controversy since Montana/Young, which was 20 years ago. Although this team is loaded with talent, luck also plays into championship teams. Nobody can predict the health of next year’s 49er team. This team can win it all this year, but Kaep is showing the inexperience of a young QB. The 49ers should have blown away both Miami and the Rams.

Sten

@ SFFranciscan….”And if Kaepernick can’t win in the playoffs and get this team farther than Smith did last year with that brilliant playoff performance against Brees and the Saints, then Harbaugh has blown it and he should be judged by his own logic in taking such a gamble in late November. That’s the standard.”…

There is a problem with this logic. The 49ers started 6-2 under Smith (or 6-2-1 depending on your view of the first Rams game). In other words Smith was on pace for a 12-4 or 11-4-1 season which may not be enough for a first round bye. No matter who is at QB, we started behind last-years bye.

Second, even last year we came very close to being 10-6 lest we forget Justin Smith saving two games (Eagles fumble at the end and batting down Manning’s pass also at the end), as well as Grant causing a fumble to save the Seattle game.

So before everyone gets too cocky thinking that we have some sort of insane precedent to follow, please toss that ridiculous thinking now. This team was dreadful for a decade and is finally showing promise as one of the leagues best.

Should we have made the move to Kaep this year? Would we have a better record under Smith right now? Who knows! I trust Harbaugh to keep us as a contender for years to come. Now Roman on the other hand, I’ve gone back and forth this season between thinking he was a genius and thinking he is a complete idiot.

http://riancooney@hotmail.com SFFranciscan

@Sten

Sorry but you can’t just gloss the New Orleans game against Brees; it was one of the great performances by a QB in 49ers history. Not equal to Montana, but as good as anything Young did, apart from the great run in 1995. I watched Young struggle for years in the playoffs, and Smith in his first shot with a good coaching staff performed at a higher level than Young managed in 1991, 1992 or 1993.

So if you are going to switch QBs now, you have to win with the kid. No excuses. You can’t tank early and then say, well, we’re building for the future. This year was the future; in September and October all the talk was about winning this year: they’d beaten the Packers in Lambeau, and Smith outplayed Rodgers. They were off on a title chase.

And if Harbaugh is wrong, as I suspect he is, and the kid is not up to the challenge this year, it will be interesting (though disgusting) to hear all the backpedaling on Harbaugh’s original aim.

The point, supposedly, was to improve on last year. Have you seen improvement, Sten, in the last month? A tie against the Rams (Kaepernick was mediocre, especially in overtime), a very good win against the Bears (the kid was brilliant in the first half), a close win against the Saints (the 49er offense scores only 10 against the worst defense in the league, statistically, and is saved by two defensive touchdowns), a loss to the Rams (just horrible offense and two rookie mistakes) and then yesterday’s mediocre performance (6-3 midway through the 3rd quarter before that fumbled punt…what bad teams always seem to do, etc.).

Let’s see what happens against a real team in New England.

Non-Bounty Contact

This is less about about quarterbacks and more about coaching.

kgfalls

More importantly the offensive yardage totals and passing totals have gone down every single game after the Bear game. We have n’t scored a passing TD in 9 quarters. Instead of the offense becoming more dynamic, it has actually gone the other way. This is particularly troubling at this stage of the season. Too many time outs, and frankly, Kap doesn’t read defenses that well. This science experiment would have been better made in the offseason.

kgfalls

By the way Italian forty niner, Smith was not a first day starter. in his first year. H didn’t star until week 3. Tim Rattay Started the first 3 games.

kgfalls

To the Ghost of Oak: We don’t need QB’s who run 50 yards. We have RB’s to do that. We want the QB to throw the dang ball. Running QB’s usually end up hurt. or fumbling! More importantly the offensive yardage totals and passing totals have gone down every single game after the Bear game. We have n’t scored a passing TD in 9 quarters. Instead of the offense becoming more dynamic, it has actually gone the other way. This is particularly troubling at this stage of the season.

Niners in 2012

We’ve scored 32, 31, 13, 27 with Kap at QB. I don’t care how we score, running or passing TDs, its still 6. I agree Kap shouldn’t run, but Kaepernick had only 3 rushes so calm down. He doesn’t have to run, the threat is there, defenses have to respect it.

WiserThanHarbaugh

Watching patriots walk all over Houston. Next week at New England could be really ugly and the second year quarterback is going to melt down and it will be back to the drawing board for the genius Harbaugh.

Love those who slam Niners offensive coordinating but love Harbaugh. Who do you think is directing the big game plan… The same guy who dumped Smith. One and the same.

http://riancooney@hotmail.com SFFranciscan

@Niners in 2012

Get a clue. Two DEFENSIVE touchdowns won the game against the Saints; Kaepernick loses without those plays. The offense scored 10 points that day.

If you’d rather have the kid, fine, but they have to win against the best teams this year. And you can’t just pick your facts. That 27 yesterday is also a joke. Fumble on the 9, three runs and then seven points. Hell, you could have led that drive.

Nobody

It doesn’t matter what the QB’s name is, Kaep, Alex, Smith, Jones, WHATEVER….We just want to see the team making progress toward the playoff and hopefully SB. Are they making progress??? Really?????

Niners in 2012

The only thing holding us back against Miami was penalties and bad OLine play. I have no idea how anyoen could blame Kap, he had 5 incompletions, one was to Moss should have been a TD. One was a good throw away to stop the clock.

Jason T.

@SFFranciscan, if you’re going to wipe the two defensive TDs off the board in the Saints game, then you probably need to cross out the gift TD that the Saints scored when Ginn fumbled at the 10. If so, 17-14, Niners win. That’s a little nitpicky, but whatever. I’m with “gw” from post #61 on this whole thing. I really can’t believe how many people are knocking the guy that took a 6-10 squad and turned them into a team that’s gone 23-7-1 on his watch. People want style points against the Rams and Fins? The Rams have a solid defense and the Dolphins gave the Pats a game last week and took care of the new darlings of the league (SEA) the week before that. I’m saying that gimmes are pretty tough to come by in “THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE.” Had to channel my inner Jaws there. Sorry…. Point is, when the Niners have played games that were considered big AT THE TIME (GB, DET, NYG, SEA, NO, CHI) they’ve come up big in all but one. I’ve learned in the past season and a half that Harbaugh has these guys up and well prepared for big games. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be ready to go @NE and @SEA. I’m rambling here, so I’ll just get back to what I wanted to say originally. I trust Harbaugh 1000% with the QB decision. He played the position, helped turn Andrew Luck into what he is today and turned around a team mired in a swamp of suck by just showing up. Kaep needs to keep improving week to week, and yeah, he hasn’t been perfect, but I see his ability to make throws and plays and it has me excited to see how far the Niners can go with him. There’s a reason Harbaugh and Baalke went after P. Manning last year and essentially gave Alex a one year deal. They are professional talent evaluators and think that the QB position can be improved. Alex is a great soldier, but Kaep’s upside and Harbaugh’s leadership have me fired up for the NE/SEA games and another playoff run. LET’S DO THIS.

http://riancooney@hotmail.com DHarte

@JasonT

Nobody wants style points. Titles. That is all that matters in pro sports. And after seventeen years of losing, this was supposed to be the 49ers year. Does it look like Kaepernick can win a title to you this year?

Amazingly, Bill Wash was almost fired for losing one playoff game against the Vikings in ’87…that was supposed to be a title year and Eddie D blew a fuse, stripped Walsh of his “President” role in the organization and the 49ers won the next two Super Bowls. George Seifert was fired for not winning, even though he is second only to Walsh in terms of championships.

So the question is if Harbaugh is wrong, and they flame out early, will there be any consequences for a stupid gamble this year? Or will everyone pretend that the team wasn’t that good to begin with?

He has to win with the kid or he’s overplayed his hand this year.

We’ll see, starting next week in Foxboro.

Lee

This team relies a lot on our defense if they don’t play well for a game can Kaepernick overcome this? That Miami game should have been a cakewalk for this team.

Niners in 2012

Miami did some good things. Miami took it to the defense, that TD drive. Fasano made a great play, tip your cap. Special teams, they pinned us inside the 10 several times. Their defense is underrated.

orangeandblack

If you inserted Alex Smith’s name I’d have sworn you were talking about him, except for the long run part. Nice to have a running back who also throws the ball. And the ‘confused by the defense part.” Oh well, win easy win sleazy, but win. We did.